US to provide financial assistance to Peshmerga

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – The US administration will assist Peshmerga forces in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) and will provide more military support to Iraqi troops.

The US Secretary of Defense, Ashton Carter, announced on Monday that to accelerate momentum in the fight against IS, the US will provide up to $415M in financial assistance to Peshmerga forces.

Carter, following his unannounced visit to Iraq, stated that the US will “employ AH-64 Apache helicopters in support of operations to retake Mosul.”

According to a statement by the Kurdistan Region Presidency (KRP), Carter spoke with the Kurdistan Region President, Masoud Barzani, and told him that “the US has delivered its pledge to aid and support Peshmerga forces.”

Masrour Barzani, Chancellor of the Kurdistan Region Security Council, welcomed the US administration’s aid for the Peshmerga forces and increase military engagement in the war with IS.

“This war is a shared responsibility, and I hope other members of the Global Coalition will consider increasing their aid to Kurdistan,” the Chancellor said on his Twitter account.

A delegation headed by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, accompanied by Karim Sinjari, acting Minister of Peshmerga, and Falah Mustafa, head of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFR), traveled to Washington, D.C. last week. The delegation discussed the Peshmerga forces' achievements and ways to support them in their vital fight against IS. They also shed light on the financial crisis facing the KRG.

In January 2016, a senior KRG delegation led by Fuad Hussein, Chief of Staff to the Kurdistan Region President, and Falah Mustafa, visited Washington, D.C. The delegation briefed the US presidential administration, senators, congressmen, and media on the multiple crises currently engulfing the Kurdistan Region.

Reporting by Baxtiyar Goran
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany and Ava Homa